


Bad Influence

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Five years later, Ladylake decided to hold the Sacred Blade festival once again. Lailah could barely contain her excitement, especially as she had a visitor this year.





	Bad Influence

It had been five years since the last Sacred Blade festival. Five years since Lailah had taken Sorey as Shepherd. Five years since she had her friends. Those years went by in a blink of an eye. Now, after all this time, it was appropriate to hold the festival once again.

Lailah was in town for the festivities. Her blade was back in the stone, safely stored away by her artes. No one would be able to pull it out, no one but Lailah and her Shepherd. While Lailah wouldn’t call herself distrusting, she absolutely could not lose that sword, and so it stayed in place.

She sat on the steps leading up to the blade, watching the humans around her prepare for the festivities. While natural resonance was on the rise, most humans remained unable to see her. It suited her fine for the most part; after all this time, she had grown used to it. No one could stare at her if she did something strange, for example, but she could watch the world as she pleased.

It had been a while since Lailah had seen Ladylake so lively. For a week, people were setting up stalls and preparing the church for the festival. Now that the day was finally here, Lailah could have burst from excitement. She clapped her hands together, giddy. Soon, people would be filling the church to try and pull the blade from its stone. Of course, whether or not someone would succeed was an entirely different matter.

For now, it was only the morning; the main event would be later in the day. That didn't stop Lailah from hovering by the door, peeking outside at the festival. It had already started.

The smell of food filled her nose - sweets and fried goods laid out for attendees. Some stalls had souvenirs of the festival, little chalices or decorative cloths. The festival was already busy, and it looked almost impossible to move through the crowds. People were shouting over each other to be heard, a mass of indistinguishable voices. Lailah smiled to herself as she looked on.

“Well well, who knew the Lady of the Lake was the spying type?”

Lailah let out a soft gasp as she turned on her heel. She had no reason to be alarmed - she knew it was only Zaveid - but her heart was still racing. She put a hand on her chest, then took a deep breath. She didn’t question how he got in here, especially as a wind seraph. He could come and go as he pleased.

“Zaveid! I didn’t know you’d be here today,” she said.

She felt a little guilty over being caught, like she’d committed a crime. If people watching was a crime, then a lot of seraphim should be in jail by now. Zaveid chuckled.

“Course I am! I heard the Sacred Blade festival’s today, so I thought I should drop on by, see how you’re doing. I knew I’d find you hiding here.”

“I’m not hiding,” she whined.

She wasn’t - at least, that’s what she was telling herself. She had to stay in the church and watch over the blade. Yes, it would have been fine without her, yet she was still on edge.

“You don’t have to stay here, you know. You could go out, enjoy the festival and all that. No one’s gonna know the Lady of the Lake stepped out for a little while,” he said with a shrug. “Not that anyone could blame you for wanting out for a little while.”

Perhaps not, but that didn’t stop Lailah from feeling guilty at even the thought of leaving her post. She hummed, mulling it over. She should have said no. She was going to say no. Zaveid beat her to the punch.

“Come on, just five minutes. I’ll have you back here in no time.”

Listening to him was a bad idea, and Lailah knew Zaveid wouldn’t keep to his promise. Yet she could hear the festival from within the church like it was calling to her. She wanted nothing more than to join in and let her hair down. Zaveid was right - no one would notice her absence.

“As long as we’re back before the ceremony,” she said, still a little unsure.

Zaveid smiled. “You have my word.”

As soon as they left the stone walls of the church, Lailah felt free. There was still guilt tugging at the edges of her skirt, trying to pull her back, but she forced her feelings away. Despite spending enough time in Ladylake, she had never participated in the festival. It was new and exciting and a touch scary all at the same time.

Pushing through the crowds was difficult, even more so when humans couldn’t see the two seraphim. While Zaveid wasn’t exactly hard to miss normally, he became easy to lose. Determined not to lose him, Lailah slipped her hand into his. She was expecting a comment, but she didn’t hear one. For that, she was glad.

Zaveid didn’t seem to mind being dragged by an excited Lailah. It didn’t take much force to tug him to where she wanted him to go - a gentle tug and he followed. Lailah wanted to see it all: the market stalls, the people, the food, everything she couldn’t normally see from the church.

Lailah got a good look at the souvenirs. There were all kinds of items - jewelry, cloth, perfume that supposedly the Lady of the Lake herself wore (she didn’t, she thought it stunk) - items that one didn’t need, but were nice to take home. It was fascinating the kind of junk humans would buy just to commemorate one day.

Lailah’s excitement bubbled like lava, overflowing from the edges of her heart. She didn’t even try to contain it. Instead, she talked Zaveid’s ear off about humans, about Ladylake, about everything she could think of. She shouted over humans, leaning on her tiptoes to reach his ear. Whether or not he was listening was a different matter.

“You’ve seriously never been to the festival?” he asked her, and she shook her head.

“No. My duty is inside the church, just in case a Shepherd comes to me.”

Yet here she was anyway, rebelling with Zaveid. Oh, curse that man and his rugged charm! She started to wobble on her tiptoes, and Zaveid sat his hands on her waist, keeping her in place.

“Thank you for coming with me,” she said.

He laughed softly in her ear. “Any time. We all need a bad influence in our lives.”

“I wouldn't say you're a bad influence,” she mumbled unconvincingly.

“You wanna see how bad I can get?”

_ Oh _ . Lailah’s mouth ran dry as the words echoed in her head. She was used to Zaveid’s flirting, yet she was not immune to it. Old feelings came rushing back, the dam she’d built breaking all over again. Lailah got off her tiptoes, but didn’t move Zaveid’s hands away, not yet. There was a moment where all she could do was look up at him, words caught in her throat. Lailah had forgotten just how handsome he was, especially with that cocky grin always plastered on his face.

She was a little intoxicated from excitement, adrenaline running through her veins. Silly thoughts were running in her head, the kind she would regret if she acted on. She tucked her hair behind her ear, before finally stepping back. Lailah smiled up at Zaveid. She grabbed his hand, before leading him back to the church, away from the noise and removing her need to stand on tiptoes.

“Over already?” he asked when they got back inside.

“We agreed on five minutes,” she reminded him.

Both of them knew very well he had no intention of sticking to the time constraint, but it gave her an excuse to get back. After all, involvement with Zaveid was bad news. Any advances he made were never genuine, and she knew that. Yet every touch made her hair stand on end, and being close was enough to steal her breath. Wind was supposed to be her strength, but Zaveid was her weakness.

“Yeah, but I was kinda hoping to steal you away for a little longer than that,” he said.

“I know, but I should really stay here.”

“Then you won’t mind if I stay with you until the ceremony starts, right?” he winked.

She wasn’t going to say no to that.

Her heels clicked against marble flooring as she walked back to the blade, Zaveid in tow. She sat down in her place, hands in her lap. The festival seemed much quieter now. All she could focus on was her hands, because if she looked up, she would start thinking again. Lailah did not want to think. Zaveid sat down beside her.

“The winds may change, but I wonder if you ever will,” she said, more to herself than to Zaveid.

He shrugged again. “Who knows? Is it so bad that I don’t?”

Lailah took a second to think about it, before saying, “no. I prefer it this way.”

If there was only one constant in life, it was Zaveid. The centuries didn’t change him. Their times together never changed him. It was comforting.

“It's nice seeing you again,” Lailah said.

“Hah, like I'd miss a festival honouring my favourite seraph,” he said, grinning.

Lailah shook her head. “The festival is to search for a new Shepherd, not for me.”

“Then it's a damn shame it isn't about honouring you.”

Zaveid placed his hand on her arm, and when she looked over at him, he smiled. Lailah smiled back, despite the lump in her throat. She didn’t get nervous - after facing a lot in her life, nothing scared her now - and yet, she felt like a young seraph all over again. All this from a little flirting. Lailah should have been ashamed of herself.

She wasn’t. She didn’t care.

“I’m sure you worship me more than I really need,” she laughed.

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, before returning to that easy smile of his. “I don’t worship you nearly as much as much as you deserve.”

Lailah’s hand sat on top of his. The sensible part of her brain told her to stop, to let go, to make an excuse for him to leave. She didn’t want him to go. She didn’t realise how badly she had wanted this until then. Lailah was putty in Zaveid’s hands, and she loved it.

“We are in a place of worship.”

As the words passed her lips, she wasn’t sure if it was meant as a deterrent or as encouragement. From the look of confusion on Zaveid’s face, he wasn’t sure either. He held her hand in his before bringing it to his lips, kissing every knuckle on her hand. Lailah watched him without a word.

“What was that about me not being a bad influence?” he asked, a little too smug.

A blush bloomed on her face. “You are a terrible influence.”

Zaveid laughed. Lailah looked around briefly, ensuring they were alone, before tilting Zaveid’s head to look at her. Whether it was a burst of confidence or a lapse in judgement, Lailah couldn’t tell.

“Does your previous offer still stand?”

Lailah tried her best to sound confident, but she wasn’t as used to this as Zaveid clearly was. He didn’t seem to mind at all as he scooted closer, taking her face in his hand. His thumb trailed against her cheekbone, and for a moment, Lailah had forgotten how to breathe.

“If you want a piece of me, I’m all yours,” he said.

That was all Lailah needed. She threw her arms around Zaveid’s shoulders before pressing herself to him. His bare skin made her head spin, and she wanted to run her hands all over him. She needed to pace herself, but good Lords, she didn’t want to. For once, she wanted to let go of everything that held her back, even if for just a short while.

With Zaveid, nothing else mattered. No Shepherds or Lords of Calamity: this was all that mattered to Lailah at this moment, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Me, whapping myself in the head for flipping between feelings and NSFW. So I ended it here. ... also I'm still a little scared writing NSFW which I'm trying to work on ~~next fic - shameless porn: with feelings~~
> 
> Bug me on [Tumblr](http://vehicroids.tumblr.com) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/vehicroids)


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